Author:vic-oliver

Do your drivers know how to handle emergencies and roadside breakdowns? Not having policies and procedures in place on how to handle emergencies and roadside breakdowns can be very detrimental to a truck owner and operator. A road disaster that is incorrectly handled could severely affect the company’s image and cash flow. If a driver does not know what to do at the site of an emergency, he or she runs the risk of saying the wrong thing, or failing […]

A blowout of a front tyre on a heavy-duty truck or bus can be extremely dangerous, as the driver loses all steering and directional control – especially if the vehicle is loaded. This often results in a very serious and sometimes fatal road accident involving other vehicles. Although I have never had the misfortune of having a blowout of a front tyre on a vehicle that I have been driving, I have interviewed truck drivers who have been involved in […]

Following the increase in heavy-vehicle road accidents during the beginning of the 2018 festive season, the Minister of Transport, Blade Nzimande, is calling for truck owners to step up their efforts to reduce truck accidents Nzimande and the South African road-traffic authorities have also stated that the previous road-safety campaigns have not been as effective as they had hoped they would be. They are therefore endeavouring to find other ways to reduce the unacceptable carnage that we witness daily on […]

With no end to its rise in sight, the fuel price can be offset to some degree by a proactive attitude. It is impossible to predict what the price of fuel will be in 2019, due to the many global political and economic uncertainties. In my opinion, the trend line will rise and we will be paying more for fuel during the year. American sanctions against the major oil-producing country of Iran, if applied, would create a major global shortage […]

There are many items to check on older trailers to ensure that they are in a roadworthy condition and will not damage a new truck or truck tractor I was prompted to write this article following a recent call from an accredited used-truck dealer, who had sold a used 6×4 truck tractor to a customer. Two weeks after taking delivery of the vehicle, the customer contacted the dealer complaining that the truck that he had bought – with a warranty […]

Could overloaded heavy-duty trucks have contributed to the damage to the Kaserne Bridge? In South Africa, heavy-duty commercial vehicles travelling on most of the country’s national roads and highways are subjected to strict and professional policing, to ensure that they are not overloaded and confirm to the South African Road Traffic Regulations. Unfortunately, there is very little evidence of heavy-duty commercial vehicles being checked for overloading in the metropolitan areas of Gauteng. Could overloaded heavy-duty vehicles have contributed to the […]

A possible solution to reducing accidents involving heavy-duty trucks at traffic lights Serious and fatal collisions that occur at traffic-light intersections in South Africa often involve heavy-duty trucks that are unable to stop in time once the traffic lights change to caution (orange). Recent media reports have unfairly criticised reckless truck drivers after fatal collisions at intersections where traffic lights are in operation. However, what many drivers of light motor vehicles do not realise is that heavy-duty trucks that are […]

Because of the number of drivers in South Africa who use our roads with false and illegally obtained driving licences, it has become necessary for truck and bus owners to thoroughly test any new driver who they intend employing The numerous recent media reports regarding the alarming number of false driving licences issued are frightening – especially when an estimated one in three vehicles on our roads are being driven by drivers who may not have been taught the rules […]

Saving fuel has become a necessity for road transport operators. With the massive increases in fuel prices that we have witnessed over the last few months, commercial-vehicle operators have to take serious steps to optimise vehicle fuel consumption. The weakening of the rand against the United States dollar and the sharp increase of oil prices have been the main factors that have driven up the fuel price. With the instability of world economies, the escalation of fuel pricing is likely […]